This month as I dart around from task to task trying to juggle all my many duties, activities, and responsibilities, I notice that in addition to the dark and beautiful colors celebrating the coming spooky Halloween there is another color splashed everywhere: pink.

It is a wonder and a happy amazement that in my lifetime so far there have been so many wonderful strides made in the fight against breast cancer.  Women’s (and even men’s) breast health went from being a taboo topic because of its ‘sex parts’ relationship to being a conversation that women are openly having with their friends, spouses, family members and physicians.

And people of every age are joining in the support to bring awareness of early detection to the forefront of people’s minds…just the other day I was at a football game where the star receiver and some of the other team members were wearing pink receiver gloves and pink socks.  And if middle school boys can jump on the “save the girls” campaign, you know your message has arrived.

Part of awareness is knowing what kinds of things will increase your risk of developing breast cancer.  Certainly hormone problems will top the list, as will genetic predisposition, age, and preventable risk factors like smoking and alcohol abuse.

But what if trying to stop one health problem sets you up for a fall for another?

Menopause is kind of like this.  Many women and frustrated to find out that osteoporosis risk is increased after menopause, because like vitamin D, estrogen is critical in the absorption of calcium. Depleted estrogen levels will spell disaster for those bones.

As many as two in every five women will have a bone fracture somewhere in their bodies after the age of 50, which just happens to be about the same median age at which most US women reach menopause.

So in an effort to stave off the heart disease, hot flashes and osteoporosis, doctors frequently will prescribe Hormone Replacement Therapy for women, which actually can reduce the risk of these problems.

It comes at a cost, however, which brings us back to the land of pink.  In 2001, the World Health Organization funded a study to track the occurrences and associated risk of breast cancer in women who use synthetic estrogen replacement medicines.

They found that women are at a 50% greater risk of developing breast cancer when using HRT.  This isn’t just some minor correlation or indication of slight increased risk.

This basically spells out that being on, and staying on HRT poses a significant health risk, causing a cancer, that, while sometimes successfully treated, will wreak havoc on the body, financial future, and emotional well being of any woman who has fallen victim to it.

The other side effects that accompany HRT are scary as well, including gall bladder disease and stroke.

It would be one thing if this risk was worth it due to benefits of going with this form of treatment…but the reality is that it is not.

There are a lot of other ways to make sure the bones stay healthy, the heart gets everything it needs, and the hot flashes stay away during the change from peri-menopause to menopause.

The most important part here is that these other methods, while being effective, are 100% natural, too.  What good is a drug if it causes more problems than it solves?  It’s almost like the Doctor and the Apothecary from Chaucer.

While I’d never say that drug companies try to keep us sick so we’ll buy more drugs (I don’t have to…there are enough conspiracy theorists who do an effective job of that already), it does beg the question of who really gains with the pharmacological approach.

But what I’m really here to do with this article today is to raise awareness…not just the ink ribbon kind, either.  I want to raise awareness of the link between menopause and osteoporosis and to encourage all the peri-and menopausal women to pursue natural methods to overcome the complication that accompanies “the change.”

I also want to encourage everyone who has considered or used HRT to take advantage of the insurance benefit if it pays for a mammogram and go get screened.  Early detection is great protection…but prevention is key.

Anything you can do to reduce your risk of developing breast cancer and support a healthy lifestyle is wonderful, and I can help you do just that.

Next week, we will be launching my Natural Menopause Solution under Blue Heron Health News, and it will be presenting natural, effective, and safe alternatives to stopping menopause symptoms and preventing many of the complications (like osteoporosis and heart disease) that make the transition a murky one.

My all-natural guide is easy to follow and will help you to make your change a wonderful, healthy, and peaceful one instead. Keep an eye out for the emails, as Christian always makes sure that we can offer new guides at enormous discounts when they are released.

To Your Very Best Health,

Julissa Clay
El331005